The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-07
The Star Of Bethiahrni
IL. aSSIOIIt- IN

Ii. Cassiopeia.
Not "A very intelligible name. is it: And
Yet that is the name of a luminary which
on memorable. occasion did exceed
mgly good service To certain wise men
from tile East. thereby winning Ior IL
self more glory and renoWn than has
ever fallen To the lot of any other con
stellation in the heavens.
Ii was b. Cassiopeia and no other star
that revealed to the anxious Oriental
seekers after truth the birthplace of Je-
suS Christ. Such at least il the popular
belief, and no astronomer has a vet sue
ceeded i'm proving that the popular be-
lief is wrong.
OF course Il. Cassiopeia did not get its
Latin name until quite recent times. For
many centuries after it flashed before a
wondering world, il was known To the
ignorant and learned alike as the long
lost Star of Bethlehem. And probably
il would never have been christened
anew had it seen fit To remain in the OBJ
security into which it PASSED after its
first memorable appearance.
1T MAY APPEAR ANY DAY.
When do you expect this star to ap-
pear again.
TWell. il was due i'm 1870. and may ap-
pear any day now. ! am assuming. of
course. that il il n variable star. with a
period of a little more than three hun
dred years. Its last period was three
hundred and eight years. Within the
last two thousand years twenty-fouT of
these temporary stars have appeared,
and all of them. like the Star of Bethe-
hem, have been characterized 10y sudden
outbursts that have been always fol-
lowed by quiescence. ETuptio of
blazing hydrogen are the cause of these
Outbursts,
NOT THE STAR IN ANDROMEDA.
Il have seen il stated that the Star of
Bethlehem might be identical with the
nucleus which Hartwig. of Strasburg.
discovered in the nebula of Andromeda
in September. 1886. Is that possible:
No. sir; for the simple reason that
one star Is in Andrometa and the other
in Cassiopeia. No one who il not gifted
with AL extraordinary Imagination. can
even conceive of star traVersing the
distance between these two Positions in
anything like $40 years"
WHERE THE STAR Sow Is.
What is its exact position in the
heavens now:
Between now and MAY ) its exact DO
sItion can be seen close To the North
Pole at hilf-past ten O'Clock at night
Probably many telescopes are turned to-
The Star of Bethlehem or the Pilgrim
as il is also called" said the editor of a sci
entitic journal of this city. may appear
at any moment. Ii was due in 1880.
and ought certainly 10 be here now
that il. assuming that 1t shows itself
every 800 years. / believe il has been
traced back as far as 800, and there is
certainly no reason why it should forget
To paw Us a visit this time. One can
never IL |. however. what a variable star
viii do Its appearance would create
worldwide interest. because 1t would
strengthen the popular belief that it IL
the very same star that guided the wise
men from the East t. Jerusalem. School
children. as well as astronomers. would
be Interested in such "A ease.
Several other competent persons We're
interviewed on the subject. and the con-
senSus of opinion seemed To be that the
star would appear i'll short time and
astonish the world with its old time
brilliancy. One thing Is certain. that for
some time To come all who own tele
scopes will turn them pretty frequently
toward that point Of the heavens in
which b. CassiOpeia has lain dormant for
three centuries.